Bush Requests Emergency Funding, Not War Declaration

(CNSNews.com) - President Bush on Wednesday said he is requesting emergency funding from Congress to deal with the aftermath of the terrorist attack, but he did not, as some thought he might, ask Congress for a declaration of war on the group or groups that attacked the United States on Tuesday.

Press reports said some U.S. lawmakers are continuing to talk about a war declaration, something former House Speaker Newt Gingrich strongly advocates.

Speaking on Fox News Wednesday morning, Gingrich said he couldn't overstate the importance of a formal war declaration: "When you go to war, you have a whole new set of rules. You can blockade, you can use force, and you communicate to other governments such as Sudan and Afghanistan that the United States is now serious - that killing our men, women and children, killing people in our cities, will never be accepted."

In his brief remarks to the nation Wednesday morning, President Bush again assured Americans that those responsible for the terrorist attacks will be found and brought to justice.

"We will be patient, we will be focused, and we will be steadfast in our determination," he said.

Bush said the federal government and its agencies are conducting business, but under a heightened security alert. Although it wasn't business as usual, Bush said, he insisted that the U.S. government will not allow the enemy to "change our way of life or restrict our freedoms."